ST. LOUIS – On May 16, a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in the Eastern Division dismissed a woman’s gender discrimination claim against her former employer that she filed after she was turned down for a promotion.
Judge Henry Edward Autrey granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to state a plausible claim.
Plaintiff Linda Marshall-Dooley alleged in her lawsuit that defendant Schenker Inc., doing business as D.B. Schenker, violated her rights under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“It cannot be definitively concluded that plaintiff has not alleged that her sex was the motivating factor in the denial of promotions,” Autrey wrote, but stated there were more pressing matters with Marshall-Dooley’s complaint.
“The more significant failure of the complaint, however, is plaintiff’s failure to include sufficient facts to set forth a plausible claim,” he wrote.
Autrey pointed out that Marshall-Dooley alleged no more than that she was turned down for promotions. She did not say which job she applied for or provide sufficient facts of male workers being promoted for the same positions she applied to.
“Plaintiff’s vague references to promotions and ‘four male employees who were less qualified and had less training’ do not provide enough factual information for defendant to respond,” Autrey said.
She was given 14 days to file an amended complaint.
Marshall-Dooley alleged she asked for a promotion to clean racks to make them safe following an instance where a case of hot sauce fell on her. She alleges she did get the position, but four males did despite their lack of qualifications.
Marshall-Dooley alleged she continued to ask for a promotion but was denied every time. She alleged the defendant retaliated against her after she continued to speak up about the alleged dangers of the aisles, including asking her supervisor if they would rather an employee die from an injury than promote another worker.
The suit states the plaintiff was terminated in February 2018 for allegedly failing to take a drug test, which she alleged she agreed multiple times to take.